BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION What would break the back of Jim Crow America? What role did education play in the movement to desegregate America?
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Using the the links provided, analyze the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. Cut and paste the information below into a new entry on your Unit 8 Online Notebook.
SETTING THE STAGE- Participate in The Road to Justice activity Were you successful? What did your learn in the activity (just think about it ....) No, no matter what I did, I could not get Government or the school board to allow me to enter school. It was nearly impossible for a African-American to be admitted to a white-school. Even if you appealed your case to higher court it was still disapproved.
THE BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES (more than one) (check video, Link 1, Link 2, Link 3) Make a bulleted list of the basic facts of the cases brought to the Supreme Court
Brown v. Board of Education Legal Case Summary
Place: Topeka, Kansas
Grievance: Segregated elementary schools, and the harmful psychological effects of segregation on African American children
Plaintiffs: Oliver Brown and 13 other parents from Topeka
Decision: A three-judge federal court ruled against the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs’ appeal reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
THE MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check Link 1) List the major arguments of the plaintiffs
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court had misinterpreted the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Equal protection of the laws did not allow for racial segregation.
The Fourteenth Amendment allowed the government to prohibit any discriminatory state action based on race, including segregation in public schools.
The Fourteenth Amendment did not specify whether the states would be allowed to establish segregated education.
Psychological testing demonstrated the harmful effects of segregation on the minds of African American children.
THE MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check Link 1) List the major arguments of the Defendants
The Constitution did not require white and African American children to attend the same schools.
Social separation of blacks and whites was a regional custom; the states should be left free to regulate their own social affairs.
Segregation was not harmful to black people.
Whites were making a good faith effort to equalize the two educational systems. But because black children were still living with the effects of slavery, it would take some time before they were able to compete with white children in the same classroom.
THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check**Link 1**) What important change happened in the Supreme Court, and what was its impact? In September 1953 Vinson died, and President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as chief justice. His leadership in producing a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy changed the course of American history. THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check**Link 1**and Link 2) What did the Supreme Court decide in the landmark decision? They said the the doctrine of "separate but equal" was not right. He stated that the law was denoting the African-Americans were inferior. They declared that they violated African-Americans of the 5th and 14th amendment of due process and equal protection. ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check Link 1Video) What was the Court's statement about the enforcement of the decision? What happened to the enforcement? The decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional, but the Court only ordered that the states end segregation with “all deliberate speed.” This vagueness of enforcing the ruling gave segregationists the opportunity to organize resistance. THE IMPACT and LEGACY(Check**Link 1**) What is the overall importance and legacy of Brown v. Board? The importance and legacy of this case starts with decision that it was unconstitutional to institute segregated schools with equal education at each school. This decision overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson case, and it stroke down all other mandated laws for segregation education. The case has made it easier for similar results in later cases of equality. The case has set a precedent for the world that you can have a diverse population, and still provide racial equality and justice for all.
What would break the back of Jim Crow America? What role did education play in the movement to desegregate America?
No, no matter what I did, I could not get Government or the school board to allow me to enter school. It was nearly impossible for a African-American to be admitted to a white-school. Even if you appealed your case to higher court it was still disapproved.
THE BASIC FACTS OF THE CASES (more than one) (check video, Link 1, Link 2, Link 3)
Make a bulleted list of the basic facts of the cases brought to the Supreme Court
THE MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE PLAINTIFF (for integration) (check Link 1)
List the major arguments of the plaintiffs
THE MAIN ARGUMENTS OF THE DEFENDANTS (for segregation) (check Link 1)
List the major arguments of the Defendants
THE CHANGE IN THE COURT (leading to a decision) (check **Link 1**)
What important change happened in the Supreme Court, and what was its impact?
In September 1953 Vinson died, and President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as chief justice. His leadership in producing a unanimous decision to overturn Plessy changed the course of American history.
THE COURT DECISION (in your own words) (check **Link 1** and Link 2)
What did the Supreme Court decide in the landmark decision?
They said the the doctrine of "separate but equal" was not right. He stated that the law was denoting the African-Americans were inferior. They declared that they violated African-Americans of the 5th and 14th amendment of due process and equal protection.
ENFORCING THE DECISION (discuss "with all deliberate speed) (Check Link 1Video)
What was the Court's statement about the enforcement of the decision? What happened to the enforcement?
The decision declared the system of legal segregation unconstitutional, but the Court only ordered that the states end segregation with “all deliberate speed.” This vagueness of enforcing the ruling gave segregationists the opportunity to organize resistance.
THE IMPACT and LEGACY (Check **Link 1**)
What is the overall importance and legacy of Brown v. Board?
The importance and legacy of this case starts with decision that it was unconstitutional to institute segregated schools with equal education at each school. This decision overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson case, and it stroke down all other mandated laws for segregation education. The case has made it easier for similar results in later cases of equality. The case has set a precedent for the world that you can have a diverse population, and still provide racial equality and justice for all.